SUNRISE, Fla. — Jason Garrison moves the puck for the Florida Panthers during an April 13 playoff game. He's now on the move to the Vancouver Canucks. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHL via Getty Images).

However, don’t expect Jason Garrison to turn in his No. 52 when he suits up with the Vancouver Canucks next NHL season. After the unrestricted free agent defenceman agreed to a six-year contract Sunday and will have an annual salary cap hit of $4.6 million US to keep in line with the franchise’s salary structure, the 27-year-old White Rock native will also keep a reminder to remain humble on his back. After all, when you rocket from $700,000 US annually with the Florida Panthers to a contract worth $27.6 million, it could be easy to have your head in the clouds and your feet off the ground. Especially growing up idolizing the Canucks and hoping to play for his hometown team one day.

“For sure,” Garrison said Monday from Chicago, where he attended the NHLPA meetings, a wedding and then sat with agent Matt Oates as free agency unfolded. “The number was given to me my first pro development camp. I’m not too picky with numbers and I get a lot of guys telling me I need to switch, but I haven’t given it much thought. It’s grown on me a bit.”

Garrison is coming off a breakout season and his 16 goals were third among NHL blueliners behind Shea Weber and Erik Karlsson who had 19 apiece and his nine power-play goals were just one behind Weber who led that category. However, after just five goals in 2010-11, several suitors had to be confident that Garrison was taking another career development step because the undrafted late-bloomer didn’t even play junior hockey until age 19 with the BCHL Nanaimo Clippers after playing his minor hockey in Burnaby, Aldergrove and Semiahmoo. And after playing with Mason Raymond at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and then signing with the Panthers, it’s been a slow yet steady rise to the point where he set a franchise record for goals by a defence by being paired with Brian Campbell on the power play. He’s likely to line up with Alex Edler and get ample opportunity to unload a heavy power play slapper, something the Canucks will need after losing Sami Salo to the Tamp Bay Lightning in free agency.

“I’m not going to be complacent at all with what happened and I just want to keep developing as a player and get more experience,” added Garrison. “It [complacency] is not my mindset. I’m looking forward to being a better player each year. I spoke with Mike Gillis a little bit prior to signing and talked about the role I play and how it would be a good fit for me. With the way the team is coached, it’s a system I can step into and help. I’ll play wherever they need me to play.”

The transition is going to be easier through some familiarity. Aside from Raymond, Garrison played with David Booth, Keith Ballard and Chris Higgins in Florida and chatted with his former college teammate just to confirm everything he had already heard about the Vancouver organization.

“I spoke with Mason just a little bit and we’re really good friends,” said Garrison. “From Day 1 when we turned pro, we’ve chatted about everything. It’s one of those things where I feel a little comfortable knowing some of them more. But you talk to anybody and there’s not one bad thing said. In that regard, it’s a pretty easy conversation to have. It’s a first-class organization with management, coaches and players. I’m just really looking forward to it.”

Garrison has been on the Canucks’ radar for some time. However, the hope was that he would do what Dan Hamhuis, Henrik and Daniel Sedin and Kevin Bieksa all did. They took less than market value to remain here with a team that still has a window to win it all. Garrison left money on the table because Dennis Wideman, 29, turned 11 goals and 46 points with the Washington Capitals into a five-year, $26.25 million deal with the Calgary Flames.

“For me, it’s not just financially,” stressed Garrison. “You want to be on a good team that has a chance to win and that’s a big factor for me at least. The Canucks are so close to winning and I just want to try and fit in wherever I can. And it’s just such a different experience to be a lot closer to my friends and family and playing for a team you watched growing up.”

And watching free agency unfold was something that gave Garrison anticipation and some angst.

“It’s a long day,” he said. “It was something I never experienced before obviously. It’s pretty crazy and it’s the business side of it and how it breaks down. To be with my agent in Chicago and see it first hand, it was all worth it in the end.”

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